Events can increase profits and sales, build your brand, spread awareness about your company and what you do. Your event will help establish connections between you and your customers or community.

It’s important to your business and (even if they don’t know it yet) to your customers.

But, as we all know too well, empty chairs can be a real bummer.

Here are 6 crazy simple things you can do to make sure that you have the audience you deserve for your next workshop, class, or other event.

1: Create a Flyer

Create a bold headline that clearly addresses the big problem you are offering to solve for the attendees. Include everything folks will need to know including: date, time, place, cost and how to register. Provide your phone number, email address, and website.

Make sure you are using your business branding (your logo, your colors, any taglines). You will also want to use at least one image that will easily communicate what the event is about.

The simple action of boiling down the details of your event onto a concise one-page flyer will help you communicate the main thrust of the event to your audience.

2: Attend Networking Events

When you go to events, instead of handing out your business card, give people one of your flyers. It is a nice way to offer value to the conversation. You might say something like: “Yes, I have a card, but here, I’d love to offer you an invitation to my upcoming workshop.”

It will be to your benefit to attend as many events as possible during the few weeks prior to your workshop so that you will be able to reach lots more people.

3: Email Your List

This goes without saying – share program details with your current list. It’s helpful to create a branded third-party email (for example using MailChimp or Constant Contact) so that you can include your business branding and other links (to your website, a video or webinar, a helpful download, etc) If you have good size list that’s great, but if not, this will still supplement your networking efforts.

Consider creating a segmented list for this event so that you can communicate more directly with your intended audience.

4: Call Prospects

Yup, if you know me at all, you know that talking on the phone is not where I experience the most ease in my job. But, here I am suggesting that if you are committed to having folks show up for your workshop, picking up the phone and having a chat will be a powerful tool for you.

Choose the most likely prospects who you haven’t worked with yet. Maybe they weren’t ready for private sessions. With a shorter workshop, people can get a lot of information and support from you at a group rate. You might reach out to say something like, “I’m holding an event next month and I immediately thought of you. I know you’ve been thinking about working together, but I thought this would be an easy way for you to get some great value and a feeling for what it’s like to work together.”

You may decide to make a special offer to some of your current contacts that they can bring a friend for half price. Or, perhaps, you offer them a bonus gift (a book, a free session, a report, etc)

5: Create Strategic Alliances

If you expect educational events to play a part in your marketing strategy, finding the right partner can be exactly what you need to take your events to the next level.

Check out complementary businesses and explore possible event partnerships. For example, if you’re a chocolatier and there’s a great wine shop down the street, consider co-hosting a red wine and chocolate tasting. Or, if you’re a job coach, consider co-presenting a seminar with a wardrobe consultant.

Partner up with them to reach out to their lists. Keep in mind, this is an opportunity for them to add value to their community, too.They might send out an email to their list with details to encourage registration. You may decide to offer an incentive for every person who registers as a result of the partner’s help.

You may even decide to reach out to current clients and colleagues to ask them to make referrals. Call or email them with a personal appeal to ask them to suggest two or three other folks they know who could benefit from your event content.

6: Use Your Digital Platforms

Make sure that you have a webpage, a Facebook event, registration page, or some other landing page that offers all the details about your event. It’s even better if you are able to capture registrant information directly from your online registration page.

Share the link to the information/registration page on ALL of your digital platforms. You won’t want to be spammy, but you will want the event to show up pretty much everywhere your audience consumes their media. If you share on Facebook, post it on your business page first, and then share it via your personal Facebook profile. Be sure to share it on any of the appropriate groups that you belong to, as well. Similarly, share it on LinkedIn from your personal profile, but also pop in to share it on any of the groups that you participate in. If it is appropriate to your brand, share it on Instagram, Twitter, Alignable, Google My Business, etc. Think of all of the cyber-places that your audience spends time on and see what you can come up with to share.

I have found that it may be appropriate for you to send individualized, private messages through LinkedIn if the event calls for that type of communication. Folks seem to respond to these messages more than they do to emails. Give it a try.

Bonus Tip: Go Old-School – Send Mail

Want to stand out?

Send a personalized letter or invitation directly into someone’s mailbox.

Paper.

Personalized.

Pretty.

Give it a try.

If you’d like more help with your event promotion, then I’d love to help.